It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it

December 15, 2017

As a society we put so much pressure on “Millennials” to choose a career and to design their life all in the most confusing times in their youth – right when they enter those critical years post-high school. Like many other students, I was in a state of PTHSD- post-traumatic-high-school-disorder when I was eagerly trying to choose the right career path for myself based off of a perceived passion for a certain subject or field.

I think this causes way too much undo anxiety problems for the youth of today in South Africa- which has been my experience. Pressuring myself to find my passion and to follow my passion has been the one thing on my mind in my most recent years.

Is it any coincidence that my anxiety is also through the roof? Maybe it is not my work load that is the issue – rather it is the undo stress and anxiety stemming from trying to figure out what my calling is. What is my purpose? Today I am not sure. But finding peace in this uncertainty is the only way to charge on.

In time things will make sense and fall into place as long as I follow my little curiosities. As long as I follow the things that seem to excite me, I think I (and you) will find that looking backwards is the only way to connect the dots. Right now things don’t seem to make sense, but we must remember that hindsight is 20-20 and things will make sense in the future.

And really, it isn’t a matter of what you do, but how you do it. You could be a cashier at a grocery store or a landscaper or a software engineer or an accountant…and you can either be happy or indifferent. Think about if you bring passion to what you do or are you allowing your mind to be lost in the clouds wondering when your passion will fall from the sky, hit you on the head, and make you happy and successful.